Protective panel for jalousie windows



Feb. 10, 1953 J. MITCHELL PROTECTIVE PANEL FOR JALOUSIE wmoow;

Filed Jan. 2, 1952 INVENTOR. LAWRENCE J. M ITC HE LL %L m (Q2.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE reocr'ec'iive' PANELFelt misoesm WINDOWS Lawrence 1% Mitchell, Miami,- Fla. ApplicationJan'uary'Z, 1952-, SerialNo.-2 6'4 ,361"

L Claim. 1

This invention relates to an improvement in protective panels forclosure devices, such as the conventional jaloosie window equipped withtransparent louvers.

In the recognized areas of the country where relatively severe stormsare encountered having winds of high velocity, it has become the'practice to'prov-ide'protective shutters, panels and" the like toprotect. thewindows against excessive pressures from without and againstflying or wind driven objects and; such shutters, panels or the like"have usually been made of a size to completely cover the window opening,resulting in shutters that are heavy and difficult tohandle and creatinga: considerable storage problem when notin'use;

The old and well known shutters have various seriousobj actions, beingcomparatively expensive and, when. in use, completely destroying the useof the'wind'ow from the standpoint of light and air and require specialbrackets, screws and the like set in the surrounding wall area as ameans to prevent displacement of the shutter. This is particularlyobjectionable irr buildings: over one story in height, since itnecessitates the operator carrying the shutter up a. ladder with theattendant danger, especially in: the presence of wind and it sofrequently happens that an operator hesitates to install his shuttersprior to the storm, in view of the fact that air and light is excludedThe primary object of the present invention is the provision of aquickly and easily attachable and detachable protective panel for glassor other: transparent louvers, requiring no fastening devices, may beinstalled from either the inside or outside of the" window", provides anindividual panel for each louver that overlies the exterior area and thelongitudinal edges of the louver for its entire exposed length andpermits the uninterrupted operation of the jalo'usie for the control oflight: and air.

A further object of the invention resides ina protective panel forjalousie' louversthat is formed of a suitably rigid form that may bequickly and economically shaped, requires a minimum of storage space,has no moving parts to become worn or misplaced and provides a highlysuccessful protection for the louvers that may be installed in a minimumof time and remain in position upon the louvers throughout the period ofstorm threat without interfering with the normal operation of thejalousie.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein has been illustrated a preferredembodiment of the invention and wherein like characters of reference areemployed to denote like parts throughout the several figures:

Figure 1' 15a fragmentary perspective view of a conventional jalousiewindow showing the inven tion applied: thereto and with the louvers inthe closed position,

Figure 2 isa vertical sectional view through a plurality of louvers;with the" invention applied theretoand with the louvers in the closedposi t-ion taken online 2-'-2 of Figure: 1,

Figure 3 a vertical sectional view" of a' single louverillustrating theinitial operation of installi'ng! a protective paneli Figure 4 is asimilar view with the panel swung tooverlying covering engagement withthe loi1ver,

Figure 5=is a similar view with the panel shifted to fully installedengagement over the edges of thelou'ver; and- Figure 6 is a; perspectiveview ofone protective panel.

Referring specifically to: the drawings, the numeral 5 designates theframe of a conventional jalousie window, supporting. a plurality ofhorizontally swinging and overlapping glass louvers 6 having their endssupported in conventional end brackets l, as is customary The louvers 6are here described as being" or glass; although it will be apparent thatother types of louvers, such as plastic, meta-l on wood may be employedor combinations of metal and. glass louvers maybe employedas-shalhbefound desirable,- but it is con templated that the inventionshall beapplied only to those types of louvers as arc-likely to befractured or broken by high winds or flying 99 V The protective panel,indicated as awhole by the numeralv 8, embodies a preferably metallicsheet that has a length corresponding to the eitpos'edr length of theglass, louver between the end brackets As" clearly shown thelongitudinal edgesof the panel are rolled or die formed; to provide-anupper channel 9 and a lower channel L. The channels have a widthslightly greater than the thickness' of the louver also clearlyillustrated. The upper channel!!! termihates in a relatively shortflange l'l, parallel to the bodyof the panel, while the lower channel Itterminates in a relatively longer flange l2, parallel to the body of thepanel 8 and spaced from the body of the panel a distance identical tothe spacing of the flange H. The spacing of the flanges from the body ofpanel 8 a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the louver,permits sufiicient clearance to permit the panel to be swung laterallyfor engaging the channels alternately over the bottom and top edges ofthe louver.

It is contemplated that the panels shall be die or otherwise formed inrelatively long sections and then subsequently cut transversely to thedesired length for a particular length of louver. There are relativelyfew variations in the transverse width of standard louvers of glassjalousies and it is also contemplated that the panels shall be formedand stocked for such standard sizes. Jalousie windows do varyconsiderably in width, being fabricated for a particular opening and itthus becomes necessary to stock the preformed lengths of panels to belater cut for a particular length. The panels are formed of suitablemetal, such as aluminum, steel or galvanized metal and of a suitablegauge that will facilitate forming and yet have sufficient rigidity towithstand abnormal wind forces.

In the use of the device, individual panels having been cut for eachlouver of the jalousie, the operator moves the louvers to substantiallythe position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. As before stated,the panels can be installed from either the inside or outside of thewindow. The operator then grasps a panel and engages the lower channel lover the lower longitudinal edge of the louver, as shown in Figure 3,with the panel shifted upwardly until the lower edge of the louverengages the lower or bottom of the channel. The upper edge of the panelis then swung inwardly or toward the louver until the flange ll passesover the upper edge of the louver, shown best in Figure 4. The panel isthen shifted downwardly to fully engage the upper edge of the louver inthe channel 9, a in Figure 5 and in this position, the bottom of thechannel I0 is positioned below the lower edge of the louver with theflange l2 overlying the inner face of the louver. In the fully engagedor installed position, the panel is successfully held upon the louveragainst lateral movement. The terminal ends of the panel are cut squareand lie parallel to and slightly spaced from the louver end brackets andthus entirely cover the outer exposed area of the louver. The operationis continued until each of the louvers is covered by a panel. The typeof panel here employed oifers no resistance to the normal operation othe jalousie window and when in the closed position, the louvers andpanels are in overlapping relation, shown clearly in Figure 2. Thepanels are removed by first swinging the louvers to an open position andthen shifting the panels upwardly until the flanges l l are clear of theupper edges of the louver, after which they can be swung outwardly andthe lower channel disengaged from the louver. The channels normally forma very rigid edge to the panels and when the louvers are shifted toclosed position, the overlapping of the panels, coupled with the overlapof the louvers, present a rigid joint that will resist exceptionalpressure and absorb blows from flying objects with danger of fracturingthe glass louvers. The slight spacing of the body of the panel from theouter face of the louver when in the closed position, also ofiers a very4 effective cushioning against danger to the louver from most flyingobjects.

It will be apparent from the foregoing, that a very effective form ofprotective panel ha been provided for the conventional glass jalousiewindows. The device is cheap to manufacture, is extremely strong, lightin weight, easily installed or removed and requires a minimum of storagespace. The panel further permits normal operation of the window tocontrol light and air, offers a very effective protection againstburglary when closed, serves as a mean to deflect the intense rays ofthe sun and will last indefinitely.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown, changesmay be made as readily fall within the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

In a jalousie window having a plurality of glass louvers pivotallysupported at their opposite ends in overlapping relationship onsubstantially horizontal axes, removable protective panels for saidlouvers, the said panels each comprising a metallic sheet having alength greater than the length of a louver and adapted to overlie theexposed outer face of a louver, opposed longitudinal edges of the sheetbeing angularly bent to provide opposed channels having a width greaterthan the thickness of a louver and terminating in flanges for engagingthe inner face of a louver to prevent lateral displacement of the panel,the lowermost of the flanges being longer than the uppermost of theflanges to provide the said channels, the lowermost of said channelsbeing thus relatively deeper than the uppermost of said channels so thatwhen the panel is applied to a louver the said lowermost channel mayengage the lowermost edge of the louver, the uppermost channel passedover the uppermost edge of the louver and the panel then shifteddownwardly whereby fully to engage the uppermost channel with theuppermost edge of the louver, the width of said channels beingsufficiently greater than the thickness of a louver so that when thepanel is so applied and shifted and the louver is closed the exposedoverlying length of the panel is spaced from the outer face of thelouver a slight distance sufficient to absorb the impact of objectsnormally tending to break the louver.

LAWRENCE J. MITCHELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,139,611 Welch Dec. 6, 19382,170,110 Booth Aug. 22, 1939

